OmidThank you for all your effort you put into this site. I apologize if you have addressed this question in the past but wanted to know the work flow from the first photo of the rough bulk to the second photo of the smooth bulk. Are there a few stretch and folds in there or just a large re ball after a sit.Thank youCJ

Dear CJ, the workflow was as follows:

1. The very first picture (the dough inside the mixer bowl) shows right after I stopped mixing upon the dough having reached the desired rheological attributes. Thereafter, I let the dough rest for about 20 minutes inside the mixer bowl.

2. The second picture (the rough dough mass on the marble top) shows when I took the dough mass out of the mixer bowl and placed it on the marble top. At that point, I closely examined the dough to make sure it had rheologically developed as desired.

3. The third picture (the round smooth dough mass) shows right after I formed the rough dough mass into a smooth ball by simply stretching the skin from top to bottom and tucking them under the dough ball.

Omid - Of all the pizzas you have been exhibiting lately, this set is my absolute favorite. These pies exude the subtleties of what a great Neapolitan pizza should be which are very hard to achieve (for me anyway). How did you achieve such gentle and exquisite leaoparding, especially with a dough that looks to be much further along and at a higher hydration?

Omid - Of all the pizzas you have been exhibiting lately, this set is my absolute favorite. These pies exude the subtleties of what a great Neapolitan pizza should be which are very hard to achieve (for me anyway). How did you achieve such gentle and exquisite leaoparding, especially with a dough that looks to be much further along and at a higher hydration?

John

Dear John, I thank you for the compliment. And, I should add that I am an admirer of your works.

Below is the basic recipe I employed. Since the recipe calls for higher hydration and warm fermentation for relatively long duration, I think it is imperative, as I am sure you already know, to achieve the proper dough consistency and strength during mixing. Furthermore, I believe this works better when making a dough batch larger than usual. My dough batch was over 3,500 kg. At last, I believe this would not work without high hydration and warm fermentation. Have a great day!

If I had to pick I would grab the Omid Pie!Congrats to Ciro! Oven looks very nice Marco! However the hearth would be too low for this big guy for all day bake.Wonder what the finished hearth height is? Also, I Love how its built in to the wall, and the tile is Killer ! John

I have, recently, begun reading this thread. I started from the beginning, and have gotten nearly half through. I do not have the skills, or the equipment, to craft the pies that are being discussed herein. That being said, the quoted post I have included here, is a "game changer" for me. It may seem benign to most, but when put into context of my life, and current situation, it speaks volumes. Thanks, Omid. I have changed course, and see pizza, and life, in a different light.

I believe it was the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) who insisted that so long as there is no unification or synthesis of art, science, and philosophy (which subsumes ethics and values)—our education remains crippled. And, per the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (429–347 bc), philosophy always begins in "wonder"—which is why we are here. Right? In contrast, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), another German thinker, posited that philosophy begins not in wonder, but pain and suffering. I assure you that some of us, however unaware, are here in this forum particularly for that reason! At last, for Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), in his own words: "The genuine philosopher feels the burden and the duty of a hundred attempts and temptations of life—he risks himself constantly. . . . And knowledge itself: let it be something else for others . . . —for me it is a world of dangers and victories in which heroic feelings, too, find places to dance and play. 'Life as a means to knowledge'—with this principle in one's heart, one can live not only boldly but even gaily, and laugh gaily too." Our education, wonderment, pains, temptations (not devoid of fears), risks, and gaiety are written all over this forum which is supposed to be about pizza!

If I had to pick I would grab the Omid Pie!Congrats to Ciro! Oven looks very nice Marco! However the hearth would be too low for this big guy for all day bake.Wonder what the finished hearth height is? Also, I Love how its built in to the wall, and the tile is Killer ! John

If I remember correctly 120-125cm. Ciro is just above 6 feet tall, like me, and the hearth height from the floor is built to his exact request. Back in the days it used to be 105 standard. Our mobile ovens are standard at 115 cm.

Monsieur Gsans, that is what the report claims, which does not surprise me at all. Ciro Salvo can definitely afford high hydrations because he possesses both the right tools (mixer) and, above all, the competent skills. I have noticed that when I make a commercial-size batch of dough as opposed to a home-size batch, the emergent dynamics make it easier to substantially increase the hydration (as high as 72-74%) when using the right type of mixer. In my assessment, high hydration can work miraculously, producing, with the right skills, outstanding Neapolitan pizza dough in a nominal amount of time. Accordingly, I believe "temporal efficiency" and sensible "gastronomical qualities" are two virtues of proper use of high hydrations.

Judging, as best as I can, by what is visible in the pictures of Ciro’s dough balls, below, they are hydrated much more than what is common in Naples. In my opinion, those dough balls are not easy to work with both on the bancone and on the oven floor. In the video below, please see how deftly Ciro handles his dough balls, which, at least to my eyes, are higher than usual in hydration. Good day!

I have, recently, begun reading this thread. I started from the beginning, and have gotten nearly half through. I do not have the skills, or the equipment, to craft the pies that are being discussed herein. That being said, the quoted post I have included here, is a "game changer" for me. It may seem benign to most, but when put into context of my life, and current situation, it speaks volumes. Thanks, Omid. I have changed course, and see pizza, and life, in a different light.

Wayne

Dear Wayne, perhaps I can relate to your existential situation in life, where you are coming from. I wish you the best!